Julius Randle was forced to look himself in the mirror. (Frank Franklin II, AP)
Julius Randle finally opened up.
Perhaps it was the validation of another All-Star selection. Or, maybe it was the confidence immediately after a home victory Thursday over the Miami Heat.
Regardless of the reason, Randle provided the first real explanation of his emotional transformation. From last season’s petulance to this season’s resurrection.
The key moment, Randle revealed, was a visit in the offseason from assistant coach Johnnie Bryant, who got real about the attitude adjustment required from the Knicks top player.
“He was talking about the year before and said something like, ‘If you were your teammates and saw you acting the way you did sometimes, with body language, showing frustration, would you want to be your teammate?’” Randle said. “And I said, ‘No.’ So I had to look myself in the mirror and take accountability and get better and learn from it.”
Bryant had made the trip to Dallas for this “honest” conversation, which followed an important mental and physical decompression from Randle after his rough 2021-22 campaign. He purposefully didn’t touch a ball or workout for a couple months.
“I was out of shape,” Randle said. “He was like, ‘Don’t even worry about it.’ He came and saw me and it was more like big brother, little brother, holding me accountable, talking to me, getting my mind right, more than anything.
“He came to me and had an honest conversation. And it helped me put my ego and my pride to the side. And try to adjust my game and look at myself in the mirror and do what’s best for the team.”
The difference is noticeable. The blowups from last season — whether they were directed at the referees, the fans, his teammates or the video coordinator — have diminished significantly. He’s a full participant in the timeout huddles, which wasn’t always the case.
Not coincidentally, Randle’s production has elevated in almost every statistical category. And as the NBA announced Thursday, Randle’s an All-Star again because he learned to deal better with frustration.
“Sometimes I get into my own head because I’m such a perfectionist with stuff,” he said. “And when things aren’t going right, I can get a little frustrated. For me, I have to accept failure, accept those things, learn to deal with frustration. And I think that is really like the biggest adjustment. Success feels amazing and I don’t want to let go of it. For me, while we were having our ups and down, I had to learn how to be a leader through success and failure.”
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Originally published at Tribune News Service